eligible for recognition with the Pingat Jasa Malaysia. The initial presentations of the Pingat Jasa Malaysia took place at the High Commission of Malaysia in Wellington on 31 March 2006. Tan Sri Dato' Sri Subhan Jasmon, Secretary General of the Malaysian Ministry of Defence presented medals to nineteen veterans who served in the Royal New Zealand Navy, the New Zealand Army, the Royal New Zealand Air Force and the Federation of Malaya Police between 1957 and 1966. Recipients included retired Lieutenant-General Don McIver head of the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association, Leonard Knapp President of the New Zealand Malayan Veterans' Association, and Warrant Officer Reece Golding, RNZN, one of two active serving New Zealand Defence Force personnel eligible for the medal. On 27 June 2006, Defence Minister Phil Goff announced the beginning of general distribution by courier of the Pingat Jasa Malaysia. United Kingdom In 2005, the Malaysian Government approached the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to seek approval to present the Pingat Jasa Malaysia. The British Government, however, announced in the House of Lords that they would refuse the Malaysian medal for British citizens on the basis that the award was contrary to British Medals Policy. The policy states that non-British medals will not be approved for events or service that took place more than five years before initial consideration, or in connection with events that took place in the distant past (e.g., commemorative medals); or if the recipient has received a British award for the same service. Intensive lobbying then began to try to reverse that decision. After a few months, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office announced that it had submitted a paper to the committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals requesting the committee to review their policy in respect of foreign awards and the Pingat Jasa Malaysia. The committee met on 7 December 2005 to carry out the review, but their recommendation was not announced until a written Ministerial Statement was made in the House of Commons on 31 January 2006. The committee's recommendation was that British citizens could accept the medal but they would not be allowed to wear it. The Ministerial Statement on 31 January 2006 states that the recommendation, which the Queen has approved, stipulates that "Permission to wear the PJM will not, however, formally be given". The initial presentations of the Pingat Jasa Malaysia took at the Malaysian High